Return to the World's End
by PhynxLegion
Summary: Helena recruits Myka to fight in the world's last stand with three others, each bringing to the table their unique skills and abilities to save the world in its final hours. This will be an ongoing story. Takes place after Season 4.
1. Chapter 1

**Return of the World's End**

**Chapter 1**

Myka Bering had fallen into a mundane existence since leaving the Warehouse. All her work had devastated her emotionally, and the simple life of books and sales gave her a warm comfort. Leaving the Secret Service, Myka couldn't function in her previous occupation in any capacity with her current prognosis. Weeks passed, and she slowly became numb and downcast. Having abandoned her job and friends, she felt worse sitting in her room alone and desolate. Walking the rows of filled shelves, the books became like a gallery of judicators condemning her decision and actions.

It was on a gloomy rain-soaked day, which Myka found herself plagued by her thoughts, with the weather only added to her looming depression. Sitting in the far corner out of sight of the front door, she sits crying mercilessly. Time became meaningless as her thoughts overwhelm her senses. As she sinks further into oblivion, the bell on the door snaps her out of her lull and she wipes her face of any evidence of her loathsome existence. Striding to the front, she skids to a stop seeing a familiar tall brunette standing at the counter wearing a warm smile.

"Hello Myka."

Myka eyes flash exhilaration, and then she subdues her momentary loss of control.

"Helena, what brings you to Colorado Springs?"

The brunette smiles having noticed Myka's loss of composure.

"I'm here to talk to you actually."

Myka angrily pulls away.

"Look! I told you all, I'm not going back the warehouse, and that's final!"

Helena rushes around to the side of the counter to intercept Myka before she can get away.

"I'm not here about the warehouse! Please! I'm here to ask you a favor! A special situation has just risen which hasn't been an issue since before I joined Warehouse 12. It's probably the reason I was exposed to the warehouses in the first place. I wrote a book about what I saw; and because it was so science fiction, I got away with it being published. I used exaggeration and changed the location, but it was based on a real event. And now, it's become an issue again. I've been asked to build a team to counter this old threat once again. I need reliable people who will not be surprised by the incredible situations we might face. Even better, we won't have to collect or investigate artifacts. Please I want you to join me on this. I couldn't imagine anyone more suited than you…and I was hoping you felt the same way about working with me again."

Myka stops and shakes off the emotions welling inside of her. Rolling her eyes around the room, she finally finds Helena staring intently at her, forcing her to address the situation before her. Helena Grabs Myka's hands and pulls her forward to face her directly.

"Listen to me. I'm not interested in why you left or that you still have a bunch of emotions contorting your every thought. This thing I have to deal with. If you are with me, I think I can stop it before it destroys the world. I could try and find someone else, but I'd prefer to have you at my side. I think I can promise we won't have any beds which are artifacts, so we won't have any unplanned or awkward wakeups."

Myka turns all shades of red in seconds.

"Hey! Neither Claudia or I have ever spoken about that mission!"

Surprised, Helena immediately apologizes.

"I'm sorry! I had gotten past that years ago, I thought you had too. My fault. So, are you interested?"

Myka shakes her head and paces the floor.

"I don't know. This sounds so much like the Warehouse, that's all."

Helena shakes her head as she replies.

"I assure you, the only artifacts we will see are those which we use, which aren't that many. I like to keep my Tesla and grapple hook on hand, and I sometimes have an artifact to get me out of trouble now and then. That's it. The weapons we will use will be supplied by our sponsors. Our first mission is entirely a scouting mission, and we shouldn't have any contact. I need your keen mind and reflexes for this; and though I'll be strapped to find an adequate replacement, I must have five people in a team. They chose me because I have faced them before, and I said I could assemble a team in 19 hours. I have two in the car, and one on the way. All I need is for you to sign on, and I can get going."

Myka, confronted with imminent death by depression, cancer, or an opportunity to be killed on the job, she is drawn to the latter.

"Fine. Alright. I'm in. When do you want to go?"

Helena can't constrain the passionate smile creeping over her face.

"Now…as you are! Everything you need will be provided."

Wearing a confused expression, she follows Helena out to a waiting limousine. Like the limousines she'd walked next to on presidential details, its ominous black exterior and windows concealed both its purpose and occupants. The door opens as they approach and Helena motions for Myka to enter. Sitting, she makes out a woman sleeping in one corner and another woman sleeping across from her. As her eyes adjust, a tall figure reaches out with his hand to shake. In a hoarse voice, he waits for Myka to shake.

"It's a pleasure miss Bering."

With slight hesitation, Myka finally reaches and accepts his hand. The moment his hand closes around hers, she feels a jolt of electricity pass through her, putting her firmly asleep.

Slowly letting her slide back, the man lets go only until Myka is completely back her seat. Running his hand through her hair and face, he empties Myka's pockets and exits the vehicle as Helena waits outside. He pauses to bow to her as he strides into the bookstore and locks up for the day. As the limo pulls away, he walks into the bathroom. Taking off his jacket, he turns to look in the mirror. Instead of the dark skinned complexion he wore in the limo, he now completely resembled Myka both in appearance and height. Practicing his voice, he nodded in appreciation for his gift and sat down to read: "The War of the Worlds."

She mutters to the surrounding books:

"I hope we do better than the last time."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Myka rouses with a peculiar metallic taste in her mouth and her head throbbing. Looking around, she sees no one has moved since she sat down in the limousine but Helena is still nowhere in sight. With her eyes adjusted to the low light of the car, she nearly shirks backwards seeing the woman in the far corner staring back at her. In relief, the rave-haired brunette speaks softly in a Russian/Ukrainian accent, helping Myka place the face.

"I see the effects of the memory transfer has finally worn off, yes?"

Myka nods and looks closer at the young woman still unconscious.

"You're the EU agent we met in Seattle, right?"

Nodding the woman smiles demurely.

"Da. I was Agent Anastasia Krylenko, but you must call me Anastasia or Anna. If we just call each other by last name, we'll never get anywhere. You were Agent Bering…but I cannot recall you first name."

Myka nods and glances around the young woman asleep across from Anastasia.

"Myka. Who's she?"

Smiling and bobbing her head, she reaches over and shakes the knee of the woman, not far into her twenties. Dressed in a plain white t-shirt and torn jeans, she begins to rouse.

"This sloppy-dressed, socially clueless child is probably our strategic analyst who is supposed to have an IQ greater than yours and mine combined. I know you scored in your 130's, and I'm just a few houses down from that, so this little fake redhead makes us look like village idiots."

Myka shakes her head. Looking at Anna, she sees a spectacular outfit, which is probably beyond her price range for the next dozen years. From the shoes to the black crepe and lace gown, Anna hardly resembled the typical warehouse agent.

"Did Helena grab you on your way to dinner?"

Nodding, Anna adjusts her gown and takes her compact out of her purse to check her makeup.

"Da. I was on my way to Donna's…Donna Karan. She gets so 'pissy' when I wear Stella McCartney to her parties. She really needs to get over it. I suppose my Doppleganger is living it up right now…or did. It's over by now."

With her curiosity peaking, Myka has to ask.

"What do you mean Doppleganger? You mean the guy I shook hands with?"

Repeating her exaggerated head bobbing, Anna smiles and she adjusts her dress.

"Doppleganger. A creature who can assume the identity of anyone they come in contact with. There's this memory copying thing that ensures they can portray their victim perfectly. You fall instantly asleep for several hours, and they wake completely unaware that they have been replaced. In the old days, the Dopplganger would kill the victim and ensuring no one was the wiser, but now they work with us."

Shocked, Myka's jaw drops open.

"Someone's taken my place! Wha…"

Anna can only shake her head making a clicking sound.

"This is the only way we can do what's necessary without endangering our friends and family we leave behind. The war will take full commitment on all our parts, and we must be able to operate without any worries for those we leave behind. The Doppleganger are an honorable people now, and they take this duty to heart. By copying every memory, they can act as if they _were_ you, not just like you."

Seeing Myka's anxiety, Anna laughs and shakes her head as she replies.

"You must trust your friend Helena. She trusts you, and you should give her that trust back. I gave her my trust long ago, and I think this young girl feels the same, or she wouldn't be here right now."

From the napping redhead, a cold voice chimes in.

"I gave my trust to Helena's friends, and by extension her. Her friends saved me when I had nothing to live for. They put me through school, gave me a reason to live, and I am grateful. Hi. I'm Candice."

After Myka shakes her hand, she looks around the limo and shrugs.

"Myka. So Helena said there'd be another. Either of you know who that is?"

Candice shrugs as well as Anna.

"Nyet. She said we'd meet her when we get to where we are going."

The limo makes a gentle turn and comes to a stop. As the three women stare at each other, the door next to Anna suddenly opens with Helena bending over into the car.

With a sly grin, she looks around inside the car and motions to exit.

"Come on girls, we've arrived."

As the three women step out, stretching their weary legs, Myka sees why the pair has stopped by the front of the door making it difficult for her to get out of the car. Looking out of the door of the car, she sees a vast stretch of gigantic hangers, each neatly aligned and guarded by M-1 Battle tanks. As she gawks at the sight, she ignores Anna's constant tugging on her shirt sleeve until Helena smiles lovingly and cups Myka's chin in her hand. Turning her head around until her body follows suit, Myka begins to get annoyed until she sees what sight has the two other women frozen in place.

Supported by an extensive scaffolding system and work platforms up eight stories high, a long bronze-colored cigar-shaped vessel fills the half-mile long hanger. Myka stands speechless before the incredible ship moored in the hanger, and Helena breaks the silence.

"Welcome to Morlock City."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Myka stares frozen in awe alongside her two companions. Anna is the first to break free of the grasp.

"Helena, you were really holding back on me. When you said this was both awesome and inspiring…you didn't use enough emphasis."

Wearing a proud grin, Helena sighs dramatically.

"I said I wasn't lying. These are what's left of an attack fleet which we recovered and repaired. We brought it all back here for safe keeping. Follow me."

Helena strides around the car, leading the three women who walk like patients on lithium. Myka shakes off the effects long enough to ask a question as they pass a large open ramp on the side of the machine.

"You're telling me these are Martian space ships?"

Shaking her head, Helena looks at Myka and everyone as she replies.

"No. That was something I made up…we had a lot of Martian fever going around, so I used it. These are Yamorian Troop ships…at least most of them are. They intended to recover them after the invasion, but I think you all know how that story went. That I didn't make up. Their air filters weren't designed to filter the air as well as they should have, and they were assaulted by our unknowing allies: germs."

Candice chimes in immediately, seemingly all too familiar with H.G. Well's novel.

"They attacked the planet on a global scale! How come we don't know about it?"

Helena shakes her finger at her.

"Another literary freedom. It wasn't our planet I was on when I described the invasion. I was selected by the organization to be an ambassador to that world and we just happened to be there during the invasion. There were over a hundred of us originally…many good people."

Myka doesn't miss the reawakened residual pain from the event, and lets Helena continue without prying.

"When the invasion began, the Famori tried to resist using their technology but it was useless. Many of our people were slaughtered alongside theirs defending the injured and helpless. I…"

Helena chokes momentarily in her story.

"…I was fortunate enough to be in an outlying district when they attacked. They became aware of our presence and began separating us from the local species to study. They did horrible things to us, not caring we were sentient beings like them. I escaped and held out fighting alongside the Famori. Then it happened. Thirty days into the invasion, they were all dead or in full retreat. It was only after we investigated the reasons we won, that we discovered that their air filtration system wasn't capable of filtering out our unique germs and pathogens. So as they got close and started dissecting us, the germs and bacteria within our bodies were released into their ships and began infecting them like the Spanish flu on speed. The Famori were fairly grateful and disgusted by the victory. We immediately learned how to develop lots of ways of fighting disease thanks to them, as they raced to inoculate their population against our bugs and germs. We're still allies with them, but I haven't been there since before I was bronzed."

A young girl's voice calls out from behind the group as they stride into a private break room alongside the cafeteria.

"So you finally showed back up Helena? I thought you were dead."

Helena spins around and the rest of the group follows suit to see a child approximately ten or twelve standing with her arms crossed. Wearing a lab coat and bright red high-top sneakers, her brilliant silver shoulder-length hair reflects the overhead florescent light. Barely five feet tall, the child caries herself as if she's carrying years of weight on her shoulders. Helena looks at the girl in disbelief.

"Doctor Montgomery? What happened to your hair?"

With a cute angry scowl she grits her teeth and punches a tall Air Force colonel in the ribs as he passes. Fighting the pain, he tries to contain his laughter as he rushes towards the nearest elevator.

The girl yells at him as she explains to Helena.

"Some ASS told me it was all the rage here now, and everyone has silver hair, and that I should learn to blend in! Bastard! It'll only wear off in like forty or fifty YEARS! I know where you sleep Jim! This is hardly over!"

She stops yelling only after the elevator doors fully shut. She pulls at her short metallic silver locks as she speaks.

"See what I have to deal with around here? It's good to see you again Helena."

They hug and Helena introduces the team she brought.

"This beautiful raven-haired woman is…"

Dr. Montgomery cuts her off.

"One Anastasia Krylenko. Your reputation precedes you very well. I read about the blood diamond market you singlehandedly brought down. Good work. She is too modest to admit it, but people were mining a rare diamond which sucked the blood out of anyone who owned it. It took a small miracle to destroy them all. The defense community wanted to syphon them into weapons, but she chose the morale high ground over any financial gain."

With a subtle smile she shrugs.

"How many trillions does a girl need to have before enough is enough."

As Candice rolls her eyes to Anna's response, the doctor turns to her.

"And this should be Candice Flannery, genius extraordinaire. There's no code she's can't crack, or amount of data she can't sift through to find a link."

She too shrugs and looks around nervously from the attention.

"I do what I can."

Helena turns to Myka, and lets the doctor continue.

"And this leaves us with Special Agent Myka Bering. The one person who has done so much work to protect this world of ours that no one has or ever will hear about. Unlike Anna, Miss Bering's work with the warehouses has and will stay above top secret. From what little I have heard, I'm impressed. I'm impressed with your entire team Helena. You did well. There's a thirty day isolation/decontamination period before we go, so let's get everyone inoculated and into their living area."

Leading them down corridor, she swipes her card at an elevator entrance. Taking them inside, she selects the 4th sub-floor and then swipes her card against the control panel to approve the floor selection. The elevator moves gently downwards, sealing their fates for the future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

After a week of tearing over books of data, Myka still was no closer to finding out exactly what their purpose would be when they arrived. Helena and the doctor were tight-lipped fearing security leaks. Their fears were not of the enemy but of the people working in the facility. After over a hundred years, the Earth still wasn't ready for extraterrestrial worlds and societies. H.G. Well's iconic story, meant to inspire and open the minds of her readers, only fueled fear and xenophobia. With daily blood samples and tests for everyone, Myka felt like a pin cushion. Assured that it was required for the first week, she couldn't wait for the week to be over. Sitting in her bed perusing a report detailing the social norms of the Famori, Myka absently toys with the pocket of her grey and white striped sleep pants. A matching long sleeve shirt topped off the ensemble, and only Anna had issues with the lack of color and style. Myka remembers the teary farewell Anna gave her wardrobe upon arrival. Insisting it should be sent to her Doppleganger, Anna adamantly opposed destruction or sending the five thousand dollar dress to a second hand store.

Myka finally found time to corner their doctor to discuss her terminal cancer treatments. Pulling up Myka's confidential files from her computer nearly put Myka in orbital rage. Doctor Montgomery, calming Myka by reminding her of her confidentiality agreement all doctors share, gets a handhold on the raging agent in her temporary office.

"Listen Myka, there is little we can do here about the tumors. They will have to run their course here. After we get to our destination, I promise to address them immediately. Your prognosis is only a year, so we won't see any accelerated growth in the next thirty days. You shouldn't have any detrimental effects to your time here, so we'll get you into their clinic after we arrive. I don't want you to be thinking negatively for this mission, so I assure you this is just a trying period until we get there. I have you on some painkillers, and I'm suspending the radiation treatments. I think you agree on the pointlessness of pursuing this. On the bright side, your blood work shows some improvement without the chemo-drugs, so let's pursue this line of therapy. When we get to our destination, I'll have superior facilities to address your illness. So, don't let this period get you down. We only have three weeks left of decontamination."

Three weeks of impending moping around, reading boring societal analyses, and two hours of gym time spread out through the day could barely curtail her curiosity. Anna would spend four hours working out, two in the morning and after lunch. With this rigorous workout schedule, she was starting to show the fruits of her labor. Though she was already quite fit and trim, Myka noticed her arms, legs and abdomen were beginning to show serious definition. Despite her cancer ravaging and spreading inside her unrestricted, she was starting to feel different in a good way. She discovered she had the energy to join Anna in the gym in the morning, and for the first time in months, she actually felt good afterwards.

Myka preferred to run on the treadmill in the mornings, and do other exercises in the afternoon. This was the same routine as Helena and the young doctor. Though Doctor Karla Montgomery appeared so young, it was incredible watching her keep up with Helena and Anna. Lining up in the mornings, they would take time to run beside each other every other day. On the days which Candice exempted herself from running, Anna would challenge the doctor to a race on the treadmills. Interlinked, they start slow but would gradually accelerate until one of the two would drop out. By the second week, Anna still hadn't won. Even Myka couldn't keep up with Anna, and the doctor was even faster than Anan could imagine. As Anna steps of the treadmill she would always add how the machines were not equal to running for real.

Candice, on the other hand, only ran once every other day and did her weights on her off days. Like Anna, she too was already quite fit, but lacked the definition everyone else was achieving. She had made it a habit of marking every report she read with her initials in red in the corner of every book and report she consumed. Her hunger for knowledge was truly ravenous. She could sit down and read a 500 page report in one sitting, and not bat an eyelash. Her fingers flipped pages every four or five seconds. Though Myka was a fast reader, even she couldn't digest and comprehend the volume of data she was taking in. In the first week, she had absorbed over half of the data everyone had to read in thirty days.

A negligible animosity existed between Anna and Candice which kept the pair apart. It was apparent that she couldn't stand how Candice could flip absently at the pages of a book, and yet retain every word she read. Myka also had this trait, but Candice took it to a level even she couldn't master. Though she didn't let it show, Candice was slightly put off by Anna's commitment to training. Myka had made it her job to analyze her team, and she made sure she knew them inside and out. It was plainly obvious she couldn't do what Candice did; and with her cancer consuming her she found she either lacked the physical strength or mental resolve to accomplish the task. Though she rationalized if she had enough time she could equal the fitness level Anna had achieved, her current state was debilitating.

By the end of the first week, it was apparent that the doctor and Helena went back a long time. Sharing their stories, it was obvious that they had walked the streets of old London together which meant the doctor was far older than she led on. Though they dodged specific inquiries, Myka had enough clues to confirm her beliefs. It was one evening that Helena entered her sleep area after dinner and sat down on the edge of Myka's bed. Shoving a lengthy report over the agricultural production levels aside, Myka stretches and puts on a weak sleepy smile.

"Helena, this junk is so boring. Don't you have an abbreviated version of all this?"

Helena chuckles.

"Not here. We keep those on the mother ship. Seriously, this stuff doesn't get much better than this. You need to have an understanding of the raw data to appreciate the importance of what we will do. Okay, some of it is very dry, but it's very important to know everything about these people. The oldest reports are only a few years, while some are just weeks old. They have a rich culture and value the preservation of life in all its forms. Please trust Karla. If she says she can help you, put your faith in her. There was a time where she and I were extremely close…"

Myka feels her ears warm and a knot forming in her stomach hearing those words. She tries to play it off by just nodding and mumbling: 'Uh huh.' She lets Helena continued uninterrupted.

"…but we both moved on now. She stayed with her studies, and well, everyone knows what I went on and did. I went just a bit bonkers, but I think the worst is behind me."

Myka can't keep her mouth shut, and squirms to get more information out of Helena by using every ounce of subtleness in her body.

"So, how close were you two?"

Helena drifts back momentarily and sighs softly.

"Close. She didn't use to look like she does now. She had long red hair back then, and well wasn't looking like she had just ran away from Primary School. You know how you got up and left the warehouse a few years ago?"

Myka nods, enraptured by Helena's every word.

"Well that's how it was when we broke up. She made choices, and so did I. And though you went back to the warehouse, I never considered going back to her. Now, we've grown apart, and she talks about a semi-permanent companion waiting for her on the planet. She seems happy, so I'm happy for her. And…never mind."

Taken back by the best part being robbed from her, she pushes back instantly.

"No! Please tell me."

Reading the stress and perspiration beading on her brow, she nudges as hard as she can to get her to continue.

For the first time since discovering her terminal cancer leaving the warehouse, she was contemplating cheating death somehow. She had gone through the stages of denial, remorse, flight, and thought she was well into dealing with the beast ravaging her body and soul. For the first time, in a long time, she wished Pete had found an artifact to stop and reverse the cancer. As the logical part of her brain orders her to stop dreaming of the gorgeous woman kneeling beside her, her heart muffles the orderly logic of protecting Helena. She was going to die. This was not an opinion, it was the ugly truth. And in less than 12 months, her body would shut down and she would leave Helena a broken shell of a person in her wake. It was neither fair to Helena or to Myka, and she would never wish that pain on anyone. Tears flow uncontrollably and she wants to tell Helena 'no' but her mouth can't form the word. Her lips trembles, but still nothing flutters across her lips. As she begins to talk her way out of the situation, Helena leans over and caresses Myka's cheek, and pulls her into a deep kiss. As they lie asleep together in the dark room, the red glow light from Myka's clock beams out, outlining the furniture and its minimal contents. Transitioning from 03:59 to 04:00, a subtle purple mist forms and disappears in the room. When the clock flips to 04:01, two piles of clothes sit on the chair near the desk. Folded and stacked neatly, they sit idly as the pair sleep restfully intertwined.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Making the next couple weeks fly by came much easier for Myka. After polishing off the longest reports, zipping through the short ones under a hundred pages each was far easier. With her days filled with reading and her nights with Helena, she found time didn't weigh her down as much. With a new found happiness energizing her, she felt the world wasn't as burdening as it seemed weeks ago. Even the doctor noticed her refreshed and invigorated after her weekly checkups, despite her progressing cancer. Unlike Helena and Myka, it was apparent that there were too many differences between Candice and Anna to form anything more than being team members.

Anna brightened up hearing that her lightning rod would be going with her. Referring to it as a Tesla Rod, she could call lightning on demand to whatever spot she chose, rain or shine. Though the majority of the large ships and transports were immune to its effects, the smaller exploration and attack craft weren't, making it a priceless weapon in the field. Myka also heard they would be issuing Claudia's improved Tesla guns when they leave. Not mentioning how they got her blueprints, they simply stated it was authorized. The Famori weren't fond of the conventional weaponry the Earth had developed and the Tesla weaponry was accepted more readily. Though the doctor couldn't go into more detail on what was waiting for them, she implied their weapon technology was far more sophisticated than the Tesla's.

During the last week, they each got fitted for the space suits they'd where to the world. Though they never saw the suits, their measurements were taken and they were told that they wouldn't be delivered until they were needed. Finding this particularly peculiar, Myka accepted it as with everything they'd been told of up to now. Ambiguity and confusion was a tool they utilized far too often. Told just enough to get the job done and win obedience was beginning to wear thin on Myka and Candice. Anna seemed to accept the ambiguity far too easy, but Helena rationalized that she was probably used to it due to her time in her government's artifact recovery service.

During the middle of the last week, Myka took a fall during her run on the treadmill and was bed ridden for the remainder of the day. Though no one said it, Myka knew it was due to her cancer. Her counts were worsening rapidly, and she probably didn't have the year they told her. Though the Doctor Montgomery assured her that she was still fine to travel, Myka knew she was far from being 'fit to travel.' With Helena sleeping with her every night, she knew she was in safe company. The worry in Helena's eyes was something she lacked practice in hiding. The continued dizziness and energy loss concerned them both, but the doctor felt it was within safety limits.

As the time ticked by, Myka's well of strength and courage began to drop with every passing day. Crying in Helena's arms every night, she knew that her last days were approaching despite the enthusiasm the doctor poured out. They chose to spend every waking moment in the other's arms or company, and abandoned the remaining reports to absorb each other's attention and affection. By the fourth day of that week, Myka lacked the strength to leave her bed and just laid there whispering her love to Helena.

A strong rapping at the door, pulled Myka out of her solace and Helena quickly parts to answer the door. After exchanging a few whispered words, Helena wipes the tears from her eyes and nods as she closes the door.

"It's time sweetie. Time for all of us to go."

The pain in her heart suffocates her, and she accepts that she must watch them leave without her. As she tries to say goodbye, Helena uncovers her and helps her to the edge of the bed and undresses her. Confused, she lets Helena walk her to the shower and sits her on the plastic chair in the shower stall. Undressing, Helena returns naked and she showers with Myka. After toweling them off, Helena hooks Myka in her arm and leads her to the bedroom. With just enough energy to sit up, Myka watches Helena put on her underwear and then help Myka with a matching pair. Too confused to speak, she watches in silence as Helena retrieves a box outside their door. Setting the large cardboard box at the side of the bed, Myka sees her name printed on the side. Her heart races when Helena returns with a box of her own, and sets it down at their feet. Her eyes burst with tears, and she smiles weakly.

"I thought I was going to be left behind…I'm too weak to travel."

Helena shakes her head no.

"What gave you that idea? You think I'd go this far and pick you if you were just going to be left here if you got sick? The doctor says you're fit to travel despite your condition, so you're going even if I have to carry you."

Without saying another word, Helena dresses and then gets Myka into her skin-tight grey suit. Resembling and fitting like a diver's wet suit, the outfit masks the seams and seals making it look like it was painted on, rather than worn like clothes. Helping Myka to the main room, Helena carries the helmets which were nothing more than light plastic head covers with clear plastic to see out of. Tying up Myka's damp hair into a bun, she gets the helmet over her head and switches on the oxygen. The cool refreshing breeze of pure oxygen blasts her face and she sucks in greedily. The oxygen reinvigorates Myka and she feels she can continue on just a bit longer.

In moments, she feels Helena lift her into her arms and she lays her had against her woman's chest as they walk towards the blank wall. Her eyes blur as she stares at the wall and it suddenly becomes a washy haze of color and light. As Myka shields her eyes, Helena keeps moving forward and the surroundings are suddenly replaced with a starry night. The chill of the outside air permeates through the suit and she gets the impression it far cooler than her body is telling her. Looking around she sees no topographical reference points, just a dark wasteland devoid of life. She starts to wonder if this is the world of the Famori, but stops mid-thought as a huge spotlight lands on top of them. Brighter than a sun, its warmth pierces the suit, replacing the horrible chill which was worsening.

A second light blasts out to the right of them and she sees a door to a ship opening. With a ramp to walk up, the five of them make their way to the ramp, with the heavy spotlight lighting their way overhead. Myka can feel the metallic ramp vibrate and rattle as they clomp up towards the open door. The room, no larger than the room she was staying in, has twelve individual bucket seats. Helena carefully sets her down into one, and sits beside her. Everyone finds a seat and the door closes quietly. A few seconds later, the room shakes and rumbles and the ride becomes gentler as time passes. Myka drifts into unconsciousness holding Helena's strong hand.

Carrying Myka's limp body in her arms, Helena strides down the ramp to a waiting gurney. Gently setting her down, three people in red surgical gowns swoop down on her and push Helena aside. Unlatching and removing the helmet they throw it into a yellow trash bag. Putting an oxygen mask on Myka they rush her and the doctor into a waiting vehicle and shoot into the distance. As Helena tries to contain her cries, Anna comes to her and leads her to another vehicle. Distraught, she tears off her helmet and sobs in her hands as they are driven to their quarters to change.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Helena sat in front of the window of her apartment brooding over the lack of information coming from the doctor. After a week of cultural briefings, and situation reports she was not pleased with her old friend. Without any callbacks or allowed to visit Myka in the hospital was finally rubbing her raw with anger, fear and frustration. Anna and Candice were running alongside each other every morning, and grudgingly Helena agreed to join them. The world they landed on turned out to be a dead satellite they used to bring people in. Their greatest fear was opening up the door, and having their enemies stride into the world. The real world of the Famori was a complete opposite which Candice and Anna had believed.

The bland and generalized written reports didn't do justice to the glorious sights the planet offered. For Helena, she knew too well what the planet was like from her first trip over a hundred years ago; and in that time it had changed very little. The planet had come to house hundreds of thousands of humans in characteristic apartments that reached into the clouds. Called 'Spikes,' they were spread out across the planet. The tall 212 story pyramid-shaped complexes housed every human and family who lived on the planet. The design was a compromise with the Famori who felt that buildings which exceeded the height of their tallest trees were an insult to nature, thus an insult to their culture. The pyramid design was made as a monument to the tallest mountain on their planet and couldn't exceed the 215 floor limit. By not exceeding or matching its height, they agreed their mountains were the tallest on the planet, and the structures could never exceed their majesty. Where the building exceeded on height, their width wasn't close to Earth apartment standards. The new materials and construction methods allowed for fantastic heights to be achieved, and the small widths kept the tall spikes from becoming a true eyesore. Like fingers reaching out from the great forests which surrounded them, there were only made in heavily populated areas where humans worked alongside the native Famori; thus, the total number of units didn't exceed twenty. With each skyscraper capable of housing over 21000 people including their families, it kept humans housed in one place versus spread out throughout the indigenous population.

Many of the apartments on the southern hemisphere were only ten to fifteen percent filled. These spikes had a special purpose which few people or Famori knew. Unlike the ones in the north, these spikes could hold 75 percent more people, as they were designed to only house singles and couples without children. These units were kept in ready condition for when war finally came and troops needed temporary housing. This was an ugly fact the Famori guarded above all from its own people. The Human race's high reproductive capacity allowed for them to bring to bear the one thing the Famori could not: vast amounts of man power for troops. Their eldest realized this facet when Helena first visited the world, and the Earth's numbers were still low compared to current global population totals. After consuming and destroying dozens of small orbiting satellites, the completion of the spikes was a top priority for the Famori who imagined the war which could come at any time. The human ability to adapt to technology and utilize it effectively was beyond their capability or vision. Despite that disability, the Famori realized they couldn't win the next war based off foreign germs alone. The technological and scientific advancements made with human interaction became invaluable in the past one hundred years.

Helena was set into a senior leadership position upon arrival due to this being her second trip to the planet. With the position came twice as many briefings she attended versus her team members. Most were situation reports, recon of enemy territory, and department status briefs. Despite her position, she still heard nothing of Myka or the doctor. After a month of settling in, she was only now hearing that her team would be getting their assignments soon. It didn't surprise Helena when their first mission was to recover an unusual item the Famori had discovered from the first war. The innocuous item turned out to be an old pocket watch from one of the first human teams to visit the planet. A Famori child who found it in a debris field playing, was experiencing some unusual events and accompanying nightmares. Following her hunch, Helena told Anna to bring a purple anti-static bag from the disaster kit in their building. After having the green leafy Famori child drop the watch in the anti-artifact bag, it exploded with sparks and the child's night terrors reportedly ended. Thanking God above for Myka not being with them, she puts the watch into a bin to return to Earth for import into the Warehouse.

This is how Helena and her team spent their first month: recovering stray artifacts from the battlefields of the first war with the Yamorian Empire. Finding them turned out to be quite easy for the team. With Helena's and Anna's advice, Candice was soon an expert at identifying and neutralizing the unusual artifacts left over from the war. With a pair of Famori as advisors, they too became adept at the task of finding stray bits of relics and entombing the weird bits of historic items they ran across. By the end of the second week, it became apparent that a Warehouse may have to be constructed on the planet to store the alien artifacts they were discovering. When Helena pushed her report for a new warehouse to be built on the planet, the locals were firmly against it. By the end of that month, she was told that the Famori were currently researching a site for the warehouse, and they would be the sole operators, freeing up Helena's team for their primary mission against the Yamorians. Though it still meant weeks of training the new agents, she felt that it was for the best. She also recommended that an agent from Earth should be assigned here full time to assist in the management of the warehouse for the first generation. Though she never heard back regarding her reports and recommendations, she felt they weren't being ignored.

On their sixth week, hey were called out to a restricted access site which excavators had discovered an unusual burial site. Containing no bodies, it was apparent that the Yamorians had dug a deep pit and buried the belongings of their test subjects after examination. Though this was not an unusual practice versus burning or other forms of destruction, for some reason they chose to bury it all at once. Various identification tags and personal belongings were found amongst the clothes, shoes and wallets. Even more unusual were the clothes and robes the elder Famori wore mixed up in the pits. With their Famori agents-in-training, Helena leads them in full body bio suits to carefully survey the pit. Sweating profusely in the sweltering upper eighties of a dense jungle, they agents spend their day identifying, and testing every article of clothes and personal item. The extreme trauma of torture and suffering the previous owners had experienced, inadvertently created a small number of low grade and unknown artifacts. One particular artifact turned a Famori into angry and vengeful being, which resulted in a dousing of purple goo, filling his suit.

After a week of testing and bagging benign clothes and items, the team was finally showing their exhaustion. More importantly, they were reaching the bottom of the pit and discovering that the remaining items were only human artifacts and relics. From women's braziers to men's belts and watches, the tedious task of identification and neutralizing the items made everyone fall into a dreary mood. Reading the inscriptions from the previous owners or loved ones became overly depressing but compelling. Helena discovers a locket which seemed oddly familiar and she opens it immediately. To her horror, she finds a picture of her brother and her little girl. Tears erupt as she realized she gave it to a small Famori girl who was supposed to have escaped the devastation by taking her seat on the last transport to escape the city. Sobbing, she throws it into a purple bag and tucks it into her pocket.

Climbing out of the pit, she makes out a human and Famori team of engineers marking off the area with neon flags of the future airfield for the transports and cruisers in construction. The Famori chose to build over the devastated remains of the past, so that they could preserve the existing undisturbed land. As she dwells on the last days of the first war, a shrilly squeal brings her out of her lull and towards the Famori agent bagging the clothes. As the agents converge on her spot, Helena's eyes burn in anger seeing the skeletal fingers of a Famori child poking out of the dirt.

Turning the site over to the Famori to ritualistically extract their dead, Helena leads her team out of the area and to a waiting transport. The hour trip back to ther I quarters is the quietest they've ever exp0erienced. Even the Famori, who most complained never shut up, were eerily quiet. Dropping off Helena and her team, the transport flies away as the sun sets in the distance. She reads a note from her commander detailing her team's transfer to the Reconnaissance Command effective immediately. Worse, she's told to clean up, and have her team ready in two hours to catch a transport to their new site. With tension careening out of control, she buries her emotions and informs her team. Emotionally drained, they can say and do little.

It was well into the night when they finally arrive at their new living quarters. Unlike the huge spikes which most humans lived in, they were shown a set of villas two stories tall. Seeing approximately fifteen sets, she is genuinely surprised by the sight. Toting the keys of the villa, Helena enters the top floor of the villa and is surprised to find a massive open layout. With huge glass windows and six bedrooms rooms with their own baths, the villa was a dream come true. Almost immediately Helena is assaulted with the aroma of Italian food cook wafting through the door. Setting their bags on the floor, they rush inside to see the dinner table set with a large pan of steaming lasagna, fresh bowl of salad and tall bottle of wine. After their exhausting ordeal, the room service reinvigorates the team. As Helena stares blankly at the table, a barefoot lady steps out carrying a pan of fresh garlic bread. Dressed in her sleep pants and t-shirt, Myka greets her teammates with a steaming smile.

"Hungry anyone?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Helena drops her bags and rushes to Myka. Myka, carrying the hot pan, quickly sets it on the table in time as Helena throws her arms around her. Kissing for what seemed like hours, a clear and definitive sign to break their kiss comes from kitchen by a precise clearing of a throat. Helena almost jumps from Myka's lips and everyone gets a good laugh at her expense. The young doctor comes around the corner toting a half-full wine glass.

"Well, you're welcome. It wasn't easy keeping her treatment low key with all your constant inquiries and badgering. They frown on miraculous cures around here, especially if they ever return to Earth. It creates too many questions we don't want to answer."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Helena smiles and mocks the doctor's words.

"If that were really true, how come a doctor of over one hundred and fifty years old is walking around as a child?"

Raising her glass at Helena she nods her head.

"True, but I got permission first. I was requested to become this semi-permanent form for our Famori allies. They don't like change, and this way they will have the same representative for hundreds of years…barring premature death due to war, of course."

Alarmed, Myka turns to the doctor in shock.

"You mean I'm going to regress to my teens?"

Shaking her head, the doctor takes a sip of wine before responding.

"Negative. Your DNA was altered to fight the cancer, and it was told what cancer was so it can reject them immediately and kill them. Now I also altered your DNA to repair and regenerate the cells it destroyed. Inflammatory breast cancer was both inoperable and incurable on Earth, but here even that killer can be put in its place. Now, I did extend your life a bit, but that was because the process of repair and regeneration inadvertently results in twenty to thirty percent life extension by default. I…I've been given authorization by the Famori to give you all this treatment if and when any of you become critically injured. They have seen your work while I was treating Myka and congratulations, you impressed them."

Helena breaks her grip on Myka and stares in disbelief

"You can't be serious. All we did was collect a few artifacts and such."

Anna, noticeably hungry, begins serving herself.

"Dah! That stupid pen we recovered was far more trouble than this. Why is it such a big deal?"

Motioning for everyone to sit and eat, the doctor begins serving people as she continues.

"The concept of artifacts is unnatural for them. Does that make any sense?"

Seeing the blank stares in her audience, she continues.

"Until people came here…humans…they never had artifacts. Now, they are seeing artifacts by their own people come into existence when they never had them before. I know I brought you all here to do one job, but the Famori have asked that I split your work between our intended mission and this new artifact phenomenon."

Concerned, Helena turns to Myka.

"Myka…I know I promised you that we wouldn't be doing this but maybe we can make arrangements so that you can stick with just reconnaissance."

Shaking her head, Myka fixes her salad and accepts a plate of lasagna from the doctor.

"No. The Famori obviously need our help with these artifacts. Most of us came here as experts in the field…it seems that fate has chosen our purpose."

Candice shrugs.

"Well I may have not been an expert recovery agent as the rest of you, but I have become quite experienced over the past few weeks. If it's any conciliation, I think I'm seeing a pattern emerging with these things. Not every time, but I think I can create a computer program to predict the creation of artifacts…or at least the probability associated with their creation."

Myka nods.

"It sounds very similar to a program which Artie uses to find artifact use back at the warehouse."

Helena jumps into the conversation.

"Not all artifacts are dangerous or have these horrible consequences from their use. It's just that most are made during negatively charged moments…thus imparting some gruesome side-effects."

Candice absorbs what Myka and Helena say.

"Interesting. I've got about thirty percent of it written, and it won't be too much longer."

Helena addresses everyone.

"So are you all okay with taking on this artifact problem? I imagined everyone wouldn't be keen for it. Most of us escaped the Earth and believed we were going to do something else. Not come to a new world and handle their artifact problems here."

Helena reaches over and squeezes Myka's hand.

Myka finishes the food in her mouth before speaking.

"If you had presented this before we left, I don't think I would have. Now? Well, I think it is an awful shame to turn my back on something which is quite clearly up our alley. Besides, we've got a power team here, it could have been so much worse. I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for who we have here. I think we have the makings of one super warehouse team. We got our computer expert, researcher, and analyst all in one…mostly like Artie, and we have our three key collection agents."

The doctor clears her throat.

"Well, like it or not, I'm now a key fixture in your team. The Famori have assigned me to directly supervisor and speak for you all. You're new here, and that always makes them nervous. They aren't as worried about Helena, but she's been away a while so they aren't as comfortable with her as they used to be. Look at me as being your cultural and linguistic expert. I directly report to them and keep my reports direct and specific. Humans like to sugar-coat problems and they want to hear it truthfully and without bias."

Helena interjects after finishing her salad and swallowing some wine.

"We found just one site, which had only one actual artifact, the rest was just junk and remains. How many sites are we looking at?"

The doctor shrugs and is cut off by Candice.

"Actually, there are approximately 1256 known war sites on this world. The one we were at today was unlisted."

Smirking, the doctor cuts off Candice.

"Precisely what I was going to say. The Yamorians were astute planetary conquerors. They were adept and systematic in their approach which worked until they got humans involved. We are filthy creatures both inside and out, something they weren't prepared for. Life doesn't work the same on every world, which the Yamorians never bothered to research. They attributed their previous infection and influenza rates to bio-warfare and suicide bombs from previous species they destroyed. It was far easier to cut off a limb than research and treat the source of the problem. Our reconnaissance has suggested that they have learned from that war and have improved their filtration systems. Furthermore, we think they are doing actual research into the reasons for their failures, something they never did before. Their reproductive capacity and rate is similar to the cockroach. They have genetically inherited memory, and it is transferred to their brood. They are all female, and after birth they are impregnated with sperm which is stored in a special sack, that keeps it alive and healthy until needed. Only about a third of a percent of their brood is born male, and they are guarded on their command ships."

Candice mumbles a quick figure in between bites.

"Three in very thousand, roughly, according to your studies you had us read. How many are born at a time? That was omitted."

Helena studies everyone's faces as she replies.

"Four to six per egg sack. Gestation in the sack is about four to six days depending on the environmental conditions: warmer faster, colder slower. That's why they were interested in this world. It would have been the best possible world to establish a birthing center. The majority of this world is tropical or sub-tropical. It took us decades to cleanse the planet of their brood. They were adapting to the disease which came naturally and it was a good thing their military command never discovered that fact."

Candice fires back a quick thought.

"But they did, didn't they? It doesn't take a genius to see that the reason you are preparing for war is because they figured it out or found out somehow."

The doctor nods solemnly.

"The Famori experts insist it's not possible, but our experts are saying otherwise. That's why I wanted warehouse agents brought into this. You all think not just outside the box, but outside the room the box is sitting in. I had hoped through your investigation, you could find out how or why they are advancing their military expansion again; but now this artifact problem is going to absorb all of your attention. I still want to deploy you all into the field, it's just going to take a bit of time management to make that happen now."

Helena, having finished her lasagna, cleans her mouth and refills her wine glass.

"Well, I recommend Anna for that direct task. She's had some extensive interaction with the Russian military in her past, as have I with various military units. Myka is superb with a weapon and in investigations, but I honestly think it will take some training to get her used to direct military actions."

Myka, momentarily taken back, opens her mouth to protest.

"Hey! Okay, fine I'm not skilled in GI Joe work, but I'm fully capable."

Putting her hand atop Myka's, Helena apologetically replies.

"Oh, I'm not saying that you aren't. I'm just saying that you need some training before going out with the military reconnaissance units. It requires some specialized training, that's all. Karla, can we get a couple of our people to come by give us some training on their hand signals, and procedures?"

Nodding the doctor replies in between bites.

"That's exactly what their commander wants to happen. He insists you all have a few weeks of training before he has any of us come along. AND…and I have insisted that they have basic artifact handling training. We all know what can happen if just one unknowing person handles one of these things."

Anna nods.

"Dah. When do we start?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Anna glides quietly through the foliage, careful not to disturb her surrounds too much. Toting a heavy pack on her back, she crawls along the ground trailing behind their burly Australian jungle guide. Immediately behind her the inept and out of her element Candice manages to break and rustle every leaf and twig Anna had managed to miss. Anna glances to her left and right to see Helena and their young doctor silently moving alongside her, with Myka trailing in Helena's wake. Though not as adept as their guide, Myka was far more proficient than their statistician Candice. With all of the hand signals down, Anna was selected to be the second in command while in the field. She had thought Helena or the doctor might have a problem with their guide's decision, but it was obvious after three weeks, they had no qualms with her position.

Anna found herself constantly redefining her preconceptions of her team mates since the moment they arrived. Though she knew Helena was a superb field agent when it came to artifacts, she imagined she would excel in the reconnaissance missions out in the field as well. In reality, Helena needed a great deal of practice to overcome her natural body movements which undermined her stealth in the brush. The same went for Myka and the doctor, but with Doctor Karla she had obvious experience which carried over into the field. As the only one who could double as the medic, she was excluded from the command structure during movement. Though she and Helena were technically the leaders, Karla reminded them she wouldn't always go out into the field with them so it was important to break the team into two parts.

After a series of lengthy meetings, the decision was made that each team would have an equal number of armed security officers with them. Though Anna preferred her Tesla Rod, she admitted a rifle was much quieter and could lay down better covering fire. When it came to weapon handling, her preconceptions were dead on with everyone except Karla. Myka and Helena turned out to be deadly shots with whatever weapon they were handed. And to no surprise Candice could barely handle the recoil of the small Tesla guns, to say the least an automatic pistol or rifle. It took exhaustive days at the range to break her in, and even longer to get her to score a hit on a target intentionally. After eight weeks of training, Candice had officially qualified on every weapon in their small inventory of twenty eight weapons. All during that time, she was still lagging on one key area.

Anna comes to an abrupt halt in her trek along the jungle floor, finding an unusual clearing up ahead. Like countless times before, Candice's hand suddenly lands in between Anna's thighs, mere inches from her crotch. Anger boils in her eyes and she turns around to see Candice's apologetic expression staring at her, fully aware that she had messed up once more. Unfortunately this was not one of their training sessions, and mistakes here could have terrible consequences. Raising her binoculars to her face, she scans the remains of a crash site no more than a week old. Though reports and scans said there were no signs of life, every day in the field was a chance to perfect their skills.

Candice was everything she hated about civilians in the field, and more. She eventually broke her of makeup, perfume, and her nails being perfectly manicured even though Anna valued these things when out of the field. Until she got to know Candice, Anna had never accepted many things about women in combat. She was adept at hiding her feelings on the subject of romance, but watching Helena and Myka made her heart ache for the first time in a great many years. She abandoned her childhood at the young age of nine when her father was murdered by Chechnya rebels for his refusal to deliver a dangerous artifact from the Russian vault. She was tied to a chair to watch his torture and eventual disembowelment, and devoted her life to the military. An important relative in the government took her in, and trained her to continue where her father left off at, and added Spetsnaz or Special Forces training to her gymnastic and acrobatic regiment. The fire of hatred had burned like a wild fire in her heart, and she let no form of weakness get in her way well into her twenties. Though she had many boy toys, she was finding there was a widening hole in her soul, which seemed no one had been able to fill. Devotion to the duty of artifact collection and protection filled her private desires to mend the developing weakness in her heart.

Brushing aside her welling emotions, she studies the Yamorian scout ship, broken and torn apart from a bad landing. With the vegetation burnt clear for 300 hundred meters around the ship, there was no stealthy approach possible especially in their dark green jungle camouflage uniforms. They spent half an hour traveling around the ship until they sure nothing moved or detected any life sign from their equipment. The two security troops lead the approach to the entrance of the ship without any of their researchers. This is the term they called everyone other than security troops, which privately wore Anna raw.

After five excruciating minutes, they signal the all clear and the rest of the team proceeds to the exterior door they opened. Almost immediately a sterile odor of ozone and disinfectant assailed their noses. Traveling through the craft they find the remains of three Yamorians in various broken and torn conditions. Candice pushes past the bodies, obviously grossed out, to find their ship still partially powered and begins downloading their database. Chuckling, Anna heads straight to the horribly disassembled aliens and begins taking readings. Myka and Helena begin doing an inventory of the ship's contents, while the security troops take out their three-dimensional recorders to chronicle their mission for future review. Sean, their Australian commander, totes his carbine at the ready so that nothing can get the drop on him. This was typical for the commando; suspicion and caution were always present at every mission. Karla settles in front of the first body with the security officer recording every moment.

Anna always imagined the doctor would be colder and less emotional, mostly due to her prior interactions with military doctors. Instead of a dry and emotionless robot, Karla was a loud and wild woman confined in the body of a preteen. Anna had to keep reminding herself that this young girl was over five times her age, and often underestimated her abilities with guns and martial arts. She only carried two weapons and her favorite was the 45 caliber Baby Desert Eagle. With such a diminutive girl, it was comical to see her wield the gun which looked so large in her small hand. Her other weapon, a short Katana or Ko-Katana, was apparently a gift from a Japanese sword maker who lived somewhere on the Famori planet. The doctor's underlying strength was also something Anna couldn't conceive. Candice described Karla's strength as freakish, as she could do a wall climb using only her fingertips.

Anna breaks the silence of the tomb-like ship by talking to the recorder.

"The Yamorian subjects were apparently caught off-guard when they hit a pocket of extreme gravity while going a high rate of speed. Their internal organs are mush, as are their brains."

The security guard is visibly taken back, more by the information than the resulting carnage. Karla continues with her evaluation in her usual airy child voice.

"His cranial section looks like it hit a panel…up here… and killed him instantly. I suggest we call for an extraction team to tote this ship and the bodies to a lab to dissect further."

Anna extracts a globe from a small box in her pack and begins walking around the ship. The shimmering globe slowly begins to swirl and glow with red light as Anna walks the inner perimeter of the ship. One of the devices Candice was partially responsible for designing was a bona fide artifact detector. She rationalized that all artifacts must operate on some frequency or another and in the past six weeks the scientists were able to find it and inject a reactant gas to illuminate in the presence of an artifact. Anna is surprised that the globe comes to life almost immediately, and she paces slowly until she reaches the cargo section of the ship. The brightness of the globe nullifies the dull green light from the ships illuminated panels, and Anna finds three of the cargo bays were blown out from the inside of them. Dark soot and debris litters the cargo bay, and she recognizes parts of the doors and walls around her feet. Motioning for Helena and Myka they see the exaggerated readings from the globe and are amazed that the globe shines so brightly when brought to the only intact cargo bin remaining. Nervously Myka unlocks the bin and slowly opens the door. Sitting in a long metal tray, dozens of small plastic boxes contain various bits of trash, jewelry, and items from the Famori, Earth, and some stuff even Helena couldn't identify.

Pooling their purple bags, they have just enough to bag all the items so they could throw them together in their packs without reacting with each other. As they get the last bag put away, Myka realizes the situation the Yamorians encountered.

"OH MY GOD! They didn't isolate the artifacts right!"

Helena and Anna nod in unison, and take a quick final look of the devastation. Anna breaks the momentary silence.

"So where did they get all these artifacts?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sitting at the dinner table of their villa, Candice mulls over the ship's logs and data recorders getting a detailed picture of the crew's final hours. Most of her work was done by the translation program, but the data recorder hadn't been purged in over six months of service. Unfortunately this was a common trend she saw with all the Yamorian ships, be they fighter craft or their heavy battleships. Without a common reference point, Candice assumed this wasn't as important as she perceived. Yet, the data wouldn't let her stop calculating a common purpose, a pattern only her subconscious mind perceived. Inputting the data into another program, she begins to visually match the start/stop points and overlays the data with the last four recoveries they responded to. The computer informs her of a twenty minute wait time and she closes the lid and strolls into kitchen. Taking out a tall jug of pinkish-orange liquid which passed as orange juice from the refrigerator, she pours a tall glass. After downing half of it, she refills it, puts the jug away and passes by the weight room.

With their team taking every opportunity to get fit, Candice had to admit she felt much sharper than usual. The morning runs followed by afternoon hikes through the jungle was conditioning her body better than any MMA workout she'd done previously. Spending the afternoon hacking and cutting through the jungle was exhausting work. Worse, the same path was usually completely regrown, as if they'd never been there. Helena admitted to her that this was normal for all the forests of the planet, and Karla said it was because the trees and vegetation were seen an extension of the land. When they are injured, they heal, but there were areas which never regrew. Mostly major battle sties from the first war, the land seemed like it could never heal from the damage the Yamorians inflicted. Karla mentioned once during a hike that the relationship the Famori have with their planet is unique.

"They see it as a symbiotic or parasitic relationship. When they are in harmony its symbiosis; and when they impose their will over the land, they see it as parasitic. The research I've seen implies they are correct. This planet is not like the Earth. It feels pain, and heals itself when it can. When we get burnt or cut bad enough, we are left with a scar. The planet does the same thing and it has areas which can never heal over with vegetation."

An interesting fact of living on this planet was the excess of oxygen compared to Earth. Earth, which only has about twenty percent oxygen, is dwarfed by the abundance of oxygen on the Famori planet. Hovering around thirty-eight percent, the doctor assured her that it was well within safety limits for humans. The Famori who have visited the Earth were stuck inside pressure suits or toting around oxygen tanks to survive. All of the team carried around small re-breathers to reduce the quantity of oxygen if they ran into an oxygen rich zone. The equivalent to putting a paper bag over your mouth and nose, the re-breathers were rarely used.

The Famori assigned a team of workers to each compound to control the surrounding vegetation. Candice was amazed to see the workers diligently trimming or redirecting vines and roots which invaded the perimeter. Karla caught her staring in amazement at the amount of growth over the course of the night. Matter-of-factly, Karla points out Humans produce an incredible amount of carbon dioxide, compared to Famori, and the forests yearn for it. The vegetation apparently evolved to search out sources of carbon dioxide and many species were quite assertive when it came to getting what they want.

Candice could see the differences in Myka since she came back. Between the sarcasm and witty comments, she could see an inner glow she held back for when she was with Helena. She never personally or seriously entertained the thought of being with another girl, but her horrendous track record kept her from finding a good heterosexual match. Watching the two women joke and carryon, Candice could see the mutual adoration the pair shared and couldn't deny her miniscule jealously she harbored. Her world of numbers, figures and statistical probabilities offered no solace to her empty heart. Yet as she paced the halls of their villa, her mind only buzzed with the probabilities of her passing away utterly alone on a faraway planet.

With her attention waning, she walks around the corner of the gym and avoids running into Karla by spinning backwards out of her path, only to stumble and plant her face into Anna's chest. Anna, who had just took a break from weights, feels the lithe redhead bury her face into her cleavage with so much force that Anna stumbles backwards carrying Candice with her. As Karla scrambles forward to rescue Candice from Anna, before the Russian soldier breaks the redhead's neck. To Karla's surprise the redness on Anna's face isn't due to anger but genuine embarrassment. The first words spewing from Anna's mouth weren't obscenities or anger, but sheer confusion about the event. Karla pleads that she surprised Candice and thus the entire accident was by her doing, mostly to protect the poor clumsy girl from having a "training accident" out in the jungle one night. To everyone's surprise Anna brushes off the collision and rushes to her room with little fanfare to shower. This is the first time Candice realized Anna's emotions were as mixed up as hers; and from that moment on, Candice began to take notice of the hard-bodied soldier.

Returning to her laptop, she flips the lid open to find the data sorted notices a weird overlap on their flight paths. On approximately every ninth mission, they will pass over a dozen various points which they spend no more than fifty-three minutes orbiting a fixed point and then move on. Identifying over two and fifty points in the data, the time they spent orbiting was the key identifier. Calling over Karla, she spends the next half hour explaining that the computer verified what she saw in her head, and that it significant enough to elevate upwards. Showing confidence in Candice, Karla agrees and shows her where to send her report on the server. Most of the planet was connected in some fashion to a secure global internet which linked Famori and Humans across the globe. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind dawdles over the data and won't stop analyzing the flight paths and stop points.

Candice is awoken by a diminutive hand shaking her awake. Her eye flutter open to find Karla dressed in camouflage holding a red lamp. In a whisper, Karla gives her a verbal list of ear to grab and tells her to be ready in seven minutes. Nodding, Candice shakes the sleep off and is standing at the outside of their villa with less than a minute to spare. Holding her tongue as to the reason to bring so much extra gear, she simply accepts her orders and follows Karla into the woods.

After an hour of tromping through the woods instead of showing off her stealth skills, Karla stops and uses the cover of night to mask her frustration.

"This isn't getting us anywhere."

Candice nods.

"Yah, and I think we're going in circles."

Karla doesn't try to hide her sarcasm.

"You think, huh? And when were you going to mention that little fact?"

Candice sits down beside Karla and takes out her canteen to sip.

"Well, for about the last ten minutes. I figured you had a reason, so I just let it go."

Karla sits against a tall tree using its large protruding roots as a chair. Shifting her pack off, she detaches her canteen and takes a large swallow.

"Let me guess. Your parents never had you take dancing or any kind coordinated movement classes because you have two left feet. Right?"

Candice shrugs.

"Never in so many words I guess. Hey!"

Karla ignores her pupil's exclamation.

"I thought Anna was exaggerating. Well until you learn how to move through the forest without attracting or disturbing every living thing in it, you're useless on recon. Pick up your stuff, let's go."

Slightly hurt and confused, she gathers up her gear and follows Karla twenty feet and finds the path back to the villas. Hiding her surprise, Candice follows Karla. Rather than turning towards them, Karla leads her further into the forest. After a twenty minute hike, Karla stops and orders her to drop her pack beside hers. Candice sees tiny blue lights riddled through ought the forest. Remembering that many creatures and plants have bioluminescent capabilities, she imagines the fruit serve several functions in its life cycle, but without detailed biological studies, she couldn't know for certain.

"I want you take your red light, go along the path into the forest, and come back. It twists a little but you will find a spring, refill your canteen and return with it full."

Candice shrugs, sets her pack down and approaches the path. Karla immediately stops her.

"It's not that simple." She sees Candice flash her sarcastic grin, motions to follow her to the opposite side of the forest and continues.

"You must be silent on your journey, for the forest appreciates blessed silence."

Karla picks up a large rock and zeroes in on a large tree in forest. With a quick throw, it hits the base of the tree and suddenly flashes of blue light cover the tree and surrounding vegetation. Karla points out the luminescent fluid splattered everywhere around where the stone traveled.

"The fruit of the Dumongo tree light up after dark, and they are consumed by a bat. Now the majority of the ground creatures hate the taste of the fruit so they developed the technique of exploding against any creature that wanders by. It smells awful and seeps into your skin smelling for days, but is harmless. They are triggered by sound, not touch, so you must be very quiet."

Shrugging, Candice buttons up the top button of her uniform, and starts walking towards the path into the forest. Karla reaches out and grabs her arm as she turns.

"Uh, lose the uniform. It's just us girls out here, and you make too much noise already."

Candice's mouth drops open and before she can speak, Karla motions to hand over her clothes.

"Besides, you'll want some clean clothes for the walk back. OH!"

Karla exclaims and opens up her pack to pull out a hat.

"You can stuff your hair into this, this crap is hard to get out of hair."

Fuming Candice realizes she has little choice and undresses. Tossing Karla her pants and over-shirt, she is allowed to put on a pair of reef shoes, knee pads, and gloves. Handing Candice an empty canteen, she points in the general direction of the spring and tells her to take her time.

After three hours and seven trips, Candice storms out of the woods in a bright blue glow, and throws the full canteen at Karla who begins laughing. With four full canteens at her feet, Karla can only shake her head, trying to get control.

"That's it for tonight. You're too pissed to do it anymore. Now that you have five full canteens, you can use them to wash off the residual berry juice and get dressed. Every night you'll be doing this until you can do this without bursting more than one berry, and then you can do it every couple of days until you can come out completely clean."

Dripping from head to toe in bright blue juice, Candice fights screaming at Karla, and scoops out gobs of wet blue seeds from her inside her bra and throws it to the ground in disgust.

After a short walk back Candice strides into the villa, throws her underwear and bra into the washer and stomps towards her shower. Passing Helena and Myka at the table, they immediately notice the peculiar odor of the fruit and that Candice is not wearing anything under her uniform. As Myka starts to ask how and what, Helena stops her by shaking her head subtly and lays her hand atop Myka's.

Helena speaks towards Candice as she heads into her room.

"Sweetie? After your shower, take a nap and be ready to go by lunch time. They just found another war site and they want us there to oversee the relic collection."

Candice buries her anger long enough to nod gratefully and disappears into her room. Anna exits her room as Candice's door slams closed.

"What is that _smell_?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Claudia Donovan had thought she had cried her last tear months ago, but every few days she was reminded that her grief was far from over. Cupping a smoky gemmed broach in her hands, she stares into the darkness unsuccessfully willing the tears to end. After an hour of this futile task, she puts the broach into a colorful handkerchief and wraps it up before stowing it in her pocket. As she lies on her bed, her depression becomes dangerously self-evident and she lacks the will to stand. Finally a knock at the door rouses her senses and she drags herself up to pry the door open. Expecting one of her fellow agents, she sucks in a breath of surprise to find the resident caretaker, Mrs. Fredrick standing at her door patiently.

"Was I disturbing you?"

Claudia quickly swipes any remnants of her tears against her arm and shakes her head.

"No, just…well, what can I do for you?"

Recognizing the red eyes and sniffles, she confirms her beliefs.

"I want you to go and meet with a person for a job position which desperately needs filling. You were specifically requested…"

Claudia interrupts her wearing a shocked and hurt expression.

"What! I thought you were preparing me for...you know…"

The wise elder regains control of the conversation and stops Claudia midsentence.

"I was! Now, if you'll let me finish, I will say that this is exactly up your alley. Listen to the offer and if it suits you, you are authorized to take it. I mean it! We go through many candidates and you are but one of several people who are in line for the position. I will let the person explain it to you as much as he can. It's classified, but I can tell you that if you chose to take it, you would have my blessing and confidence to do it superbly.

Claudia buries her anger as her curiosity wedges itself firmly in place.

"But you can't tell my anything about it?"

Mrs. Frederick shakes her head.

"The driver will take you there. You must take only one bag with you, but no clothes. I will be able to forward most of your stuff should you decide to accept the offer."

Dumbfounded, Claudia tries to keep control of her emotions with the overlapping confusion.

"Why should I take my bag if I'm only considering the offer?"

Mrs. Frederick shakes her head again and paces around the room.

"If you accept the offer, you must leave immediately and leave all your friends here, behind. The mission is critical, and I doubt you will return even if it's a success. I can promise you some familiar faces will be there, but who and how are classified. Let's just say I believe in you, and it is highly rewarding intellectually. As I said, right up your alley."

Claudia stands in the middle of the room struck with fear and confusion. She shoves her hands into her pockets only to find her twirling the broach in her hand. Leena had pushed her to leave her comfort zone, and here she was facing the largest dilemma to that barrier. With her tears welling deep inside her, she shook them off and can only imagine Leena scolding her for not being braver. As she opens her mouth to decline, the broach somehow worked itself out of the handkerchief and sits in her sweaty palm. The cold gem reminds her of Leena, and she can feel her deceased soul mate chiding her endlessly across time and space.

Nodding in agreement, Claudia grabs her backpack and stuffs a few essential items into it and walks down the stairs silently as Pete and Steve joke in the dining room over lunch. She takes one last look at her friends, burning the memory into her brain. Pulling to the front of the B&B, a long black Buick pulls up and the door opens by itself. Claudia glances behind her, to find Mrs. Frederick standing at the front door. She silently nods and gives the young agent assurance that the car is safe. As it disappears down the drive, Artie comes up behind her, and inquires.

"Where's she going?"

Mrs. Frederick takes a breath and stands more erect.

"On an errand. She'll be back soon. And Artie, keep this between us."

Surprised, he simply nods, grunts approvingly, and walks back inside.

After a couple of hours, they pull into a quaint diner, and the door opens. Claudia grabs her bag, and strides quietly inside. Before she can speak a short geeky man in a fine suit stands in the back of the diner and waves for Claudia to join him. Claudia tries to contain her excitement and rushes to join him.

"FARGO! What are you doing here?"

He hugs her and invites her to sit.

"They asked me to offer you the job. I have a limited clearance level on this project, but I can tell you it is legit. They felt a friendly face was warranted to entice you to accept it."

Claudia sits back amazed.

"Wow. They got you out of Eureka just to offer me a job, I'm impressed."

Fargo leans forwards to whisper.

"Claudia, if I could steal this from you, I wouldn't hesitate. I can't tell you any particulars, but I can say it's a dream job for many of us in Eureka, and only a handful of us have been given the opportunity. You beat out our Sherriff Carter, our security chief, and two dozen other qualified applicants."

Claudia smirks incredulously.

"Applicants? I didn't apply for anything."

Fargo can only shake his head in professional amazement.

"Yah! We know! They chose you over all of us. I know it has something to do with the work you do at the warehouse, but that is all I am authorized to mention. So far, only fifteen people from Eureka have been given this assignment location, and this job position is unique. Mrs. Fredericks has gone to bat for you, and her opinion has a lot of weight with the decision makers."

Claudia nods her head.

"So you're here to tell me to take it?"

"NO! I want the job…but officially yes. This job was practically made for you Claudia. You'd be a fool to turn it down."

The waitress arrives drops off an order at their table. Claudia begins to object, but Fargo stops her.

"You know how in the Matrix when Morpheus offered Neo the blue pill or the red pill? Well that's lunch. If you accept it, you'll sit here and enjoy the free meal on the government's tab before you step into a car to take you to your new job. If you refuse the meal, it means you want to go back into the matrix. Claudia, take the Red Pill! You'll thank me later."

Claudia looks around and notices half a dozen or more patrons staring at her, to include Fargo and the waitress. With so many eyes trained on her, Claudia stares down at her plate: a double cheeseburger, wedge fries and piece of apple pie. Claudia is unsure how long she stared at her food before she finally picked up a fry and popped it into her mouth. Laughing and carrying on with Fargo, she eyes the patrons around her and notes they are acting relieved and happy. After half an hour, and two refills of her soda, Claudia lets Fargo escort her to the waiting limousine. After exchanging a hug, Claudia climbs into the limo and jumps when a hand reaches out to shake hers. Gingerly, she takes it and collapses into a deep slumber.

Fargo watches the short man step out of the Limo and climb into the Buick Claudia arrived in. The waitress comes up behind Fargo and watches the two cars pull away.

"She'll be heading out with your team which leaves in three weeks. Thank you for your assistance Director Fargo."

Nodding Fargo stares intently at the limo as it disappears out of sight.

"It's not a problem, she's my friend. I'd do it again."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Candice and Anna were dumbfounded by the quantity of artifacts the war site contained. Up to now, there were never more than two actual artifacts per site, but on this occasion they discovered five close together. As the Famori collectors carefully sifted through the buried wreckage and skeletons, it was apparent that something catastrophic occurred around the artifacts. Worse, three of the five artifacts were destroyed or broken into useless pieces, while two were left scorched but operable. Myka carefully handles the ancient can opener with her purple gloved hands, turning it over and over.

"You know what this reminds me of Helena? The ship we found. Maybe the artifacts got too close to each other and reacted negatively. It would explain why only two pieces are still salvageable."

Helena nods. Anna brings a small box of broken pottery shards to a Famori and motions to take it out of the grave site. Wearing the purple gloves, it steadily climbs out of the pit and hands it to another waiting Famori as Karla speaks in softs whistles to their Famori counterparts. A pair at the edge of the pit nod, disappears for few minutes, and return with more body bags. Karla shakes her head in disgust.

"Most of these people were churned up and torn asunder by what happened here, almost like they were thrown in a blender or something. They were kept whole even when they hit the ground, but their parts were only held together by static force. Even their clothes were sliced apart, but were held together somehow. This definitely looks like the work of an artifact."

Myka carefully picks up the pieces of an ancient monocle, and slides it onto a waiting anti-artifact bag for good measure.

"I know artifacts, for the most part are bad, but I sure would like to have known what these did. For all we know they could have reacted negatively to the invaders or situation and might be a useful item against the Yamorians."

Candice stops picking through the wreckage and stands erect hearing Myka's words.

"You know what? I think she's onto something. Maybe that's what the Yamorians were doing? They were testing the effects of the artifacts and boom! It went horribly bad for everyone."

Karla stops and begins conversing with the Famori. She climbs out of the pit and walks west with a dozen Famori. After twenty minutes she returns shaking her head.

"Damn Candice, you make this look easy. You're right on, or at least really close. We have Yamorian wreckage nearby with dozens of dead just like ours here. As soon as they get finished digging out the flight recorder to the ship, we can get to it and salvage any data."

Anna comes up and pats Candice on the shoulder, showing her support.

"This site is no different to several we've excavated. Perhaps the Yamorians knew time was limited towards the end of the war; and rather than spend countless hours sterilizing their test sites and hiding their evidence, they just bulldozed the entire site. It seems to be what we're seeing, da…yes?"

Karla nods slightly.

"Yup. And I think that's exactly what I'll put in my report. Oh! Command has asked us to start doing daily logs from each of us. They feel that your personal thoughts and insights might be of great value to future agents, so they want you all to write for an hour each day."

Seeing everyone's frustration hearing this new task requirement after their long hours at digs and missions, she raises her hands defensively.

"Hey don't shoot the messenger! I have to do it too, in addition to my reports I already do."

Rather than argue pointlessly, everyone returns to their duties and work until sunset. On time, their replacement crews arrive and take over sifting through dirt and debris for any and all trace remains of bodies or artifacts.

As Karla turns to lead her people to their shuttle, she gets a ring on her cell phone. With a smile she answers but her expression suddenly turns from joy to angry horror. Ordering the shuttle pilot to rush to the capitol, half an hour away, she screams over the roar of the shuttle's exterior engines.

"Ten minutes ago, our receiving station was attacked. Remember the place you all arrived at? The Yamorians were able to booby trap it. We lost one troop ship, and three of the new arrivals. Worse, they took out the arch on both sides. Three people in transit simply evaporated and ceased to exist, and there are great amount of wounded called in. We can't send or receive personnel to Earth easily now. We'll have to rely on FTL ships to get there, which we all know how Earth people love seeing UFOs. Well, I don't have a roster on who did or didn't make it, but these were our Warehouse construction engineers and technicians. One of which was earmarked for our team until construction was completed. I'll know more once I can get on the ground. When we land, everyone stick close to the shuttle. I may send some of you back to prepare dinner and get cleaned up."

Myka and Helena couldn't miss the intense worry on Karla's face as they traveled. She spent half the trip on her phone trying to get updates and an idea as to who survived or was injured. Despite having the apparent age of a child, Karla wore her stress no different than anyone else in her team. Landing outside the hospital, Karla is met by a tall man in his mid-forties who escorts her inside.

Half an hour passed, and as the team sat on a landing zone, they watched dozens of emergency shuttles arrive and empty their bellies with injured personnel. The reality of the war finally sinks in for them, seeing people with grotesque injuries and wounds rushed into the hospital one after another. Until now, the idea that they were going to fight a war was unreal and incomprehensible. Sitting in their shuttle with the ramp down, watching the stream of wounded and dead rushed into ward, was a wake-up call for all of them. Candice, sitting towards the front, leans over into the cockpit and gets the attention of their Famori pilot. In a whisper, she asks his opinion.

"Was it always like this? I mean during the war."

The green leafy pilot shakes his head. On Candice's translator she reads his reply.

"No. It was worse. We rarely had access to hospitals."

Candice slips back into her seat cold and sorrowful. For another twenty minutes, they watch the flurry of activity across the ramp, until Karla finally returns worried but more relieved than before she left. She motions to the pilot to start up and return to the villa. She motions for Myka to come with her as she speaks.

"There's nothing left for you all to do here. Head back and get cleaned up and rested. Go ahead and make dinner and Myka and I will return with our new team member. She's really banged and cut up, but she'll live. She'll be out of it for a couple of days until her limbs fully regenerate, but she's already awake and coherent. Thanks everyone for putting up with me. I'm so stressed. I'm not thinking straight right now."

The assurances and support pour out of the small shuttle, and she tells the pilot to return after dropping everyone off. As Myka passes Helena, Helena reaches out and squeezes Myka's hand, something they hadn't been doing much of this day. Sharing a pair of weak smiles between them, Myka waves goodbye as the ramp closes shut and lifts away.

Following Karla, Myka tries keep up with the child-sized doctor as she buzzes through the wall of doctors and nurses filling the halls. Flashing their badges, they are allowed into a private ward where patients lie quietly as they recuperate. Karla leads Myka to the last bed on the left, and quietly peeks inside before leading Myka through the curtains. Myka gasps and wants to scream seeing Claudia laid out in bed asleep. Karla grabs Myka's arm and forces her to sit. Karla pulls up Claudia's medical records on an electronic tablet and shuffles through them.

"She'll be able to travel soon. The regenerative socks will also sedate the patient. The process of regenerating limbs is beyond painful. We will take her back to the villa to sleep it off. That's why you slept so much when you got here. We were regenerating the damage the cancer did inside your body. She lost both legs above the knees, and half her blood. Fortunately we replenished the blood quickly, but it's going to take a few days to regrow the limbs. The basic bones structure is about done, but they aren't full size yet for her age. Oh, she lost a couple of fingers too, but they regrew really fast. The socks will dissolve once the process is complete. It's absorbed into the limb and acts as the basis for the skin once the muscle is formed."

Myka barely registers her words as she swipes the hair away from the front of Claudia's eyes. Suddenly they flutter open, making Myka skip a beat and then smile.

"Hey you. Do you realize that you should be dead right now?"

Claudia tries to push herself up but stops just as quickly and lies back gingerly. She suddenly brings her left hand to her face and examines her last two fingers which had been blown off in the explosion. Amazed, she flexes them slowly and can't hide her bewilderment.

"I had this weird dream that I had lost my fingers and legs. God, what happened?"

Myka's loss for words catches Claudia off guard and she begins scrutinizing her immobilized legs. Before she becomes overly distraught, Karla stops her from pulling back the sheets.

"That wasn't a dream Miss Donovan. We were able to quickly regrow your missing digits, but your legs will take a few days. Afterwards you should have full use of them with little to no physical therapy. For right now relax, rest, and you'll come back with us to your villa. Its best you get settled in and comfortable until Warehouse One is completed."

Myka turns to Karla surprised.

"One? Shouldn't it be fourteen?"

Karla simply shakes her head.

"Not really. This will be the first Warehouse on this planet, and if they did name it fourteen, everyone would ask why we skipped fourteen back on Earth. It's best they just begin from scratch here."

Claudia interjects quickly while a hole in the discussion exists.

"Who else from the Warehouse is here? Mrs. Frederic only sent me to the meeting."

Myka smiles broadly.

"Well, there's me and H.G. and not to mention that Russian agent we met in Seattle. You'll meet the entire team when you're up for it."

With some of the pain radiating from her legs, Claudia finds the idea of drifting asleep tempting.

"That's awesome. I think I'll take a nap now. Oh, who didn't make it from the Eureka?"

Karla tries to dodge the question, but Myka and Claudia refuse to let her escape without replying.

"Well Dr. Hodges died at the scene, as did Miss Carter, Dr. Monroe, and…Dr. Fargo. Fortunately most of the engineers made it to safety, but the loss of our key designers and staff has set us back. I'm sorry, I'm aware you and Doctor Fargo were close friends. I'm going to get the discharge nurse. Excuse me."

Myka comes around to Claudia's right and holds her hand as she cries herself to sleep.

When Claudia wakes, the sun is piercing through the closed shades of a villa similar to something she'd imagine in the Caribbean or some tropical locale. As she tries to push aside the painful loss of her dear friend Douglas Fargo, she realizes her feet suddenly moved. Scared to see how mangled her legs might appear, she tentatively lifts the sheets to see two perfect legs laying where they should be attached to her. Shaking, she touches her legs and feels exactly what she'd expect to feel if she touched her legs. Rubbing her finger up and down the length of her thighs, she can discern no seam or indication that her legs were ever lost. Watching her toes flex and move, she lets her breath go, relieved that she's intact. She jumps when there's a knock at the door, and she throws the sheet back over her naked form. She scans the room, and is relieved to see the chair beside the closet doesn't have a set of neatly folded clothes sitting on it.

She watches the door slowly open and the child-like Karla enters carrying a medical bag, very similar to Artie's. Throwing on a warm smile, she closes the door behind her and drags a chair beside the bed. Wearing bright red sweats, and matching house shoes, she sits down and opens her bag to extract a laser thermometer and an imager to view the condition of her legs. Claudia can't help but feel weird have a kid examine her.

"So are you like Doogie Houser or something like that, a child genius who's a doctor now?"

Karla looks at her with a confused expression.

"I've never heard of Doctor Houser, but I'm far older than I appear kid."

Claudia is taken back.

"Kid? How old can you be? Twelve? Fourteen?"

Proudly, Karla lifts the sheets Claudia's legs and runs the imager over the newly regenerated legs.

"I'll have you know that I'm very young looking for my age. Anyone who can complain that they look too young after celebrating their 128th birthday is a major accomplishment in my book. My ex couldn't get passed that, so I'm on the market once again. Now enough of me. How do your legs feel?"

Dumbfounded, Claudia stared blankly at the small white-haired doctor.

"Uh…fine."

Karla looks inside the pale legs of the new warehouse caretaker. With the seamless replacement a success, Karla is noticeably relieved. Taking out a small wand with a bulbous end and tiny probe-like tip on the other end, she hands it to Claudia.

"Now, you can remove the diaper with this. It's a sonic destabilizer. Just flip the switch and rub it over the top of the green diaper to get it off."

Confused, Claudia instinctively reaches down and is momentarily shocked when the waist band of the diaper doesn't separate from her hips like underwear should. Karla represses her laugh.

"Let me show you."

She lifts off the sheets around Claudia's waist, flips the sonic device on, and guides Claudia's hand as the soothing waves permeate through the diaper. After a few seconds, the diaper suddenly pops free of Claudia's skin and she can see her hips. The soothing vibrations make Claudia forget her situation and location, and her eyelids seal together enjoying the waves of relief spreading through her as Karla guides the device over the diaper. Starting with the waist, she runs the bulbous end of the wand in small circles around the edges until the diaper has expanded to three times its size, completely free from Claudia. Leaning on Claudia, Karla continues the small circles until half of the diaper is off Claudia. As Karla begins to dip the wand down further, she suddenly realizes where her hand was about to go and is overcome with embarrassment. Her cheeks explode into bright red patches. Releasing Claudia's hand in shock, she steps away while stammering her apologies.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me. Um… you get the idea what you need to do. I'll let you finish up here, and I'll be outside…um…in my room. Clothes and everything you need are in your closet. Myka and the team will be back in a few hours. I'd appreciate your help with dinner. Try and stand before I go."

With sweat beading on her brow, Claudia nods, and swings her legs over the edge of the bed. Using one arm to cover her chest, Claudia slowly slides off the high bed and lands on her feet. Expecting her legs to collapse, she instinctively throws both arms to the bed to stop her fall, only to discover her legs are fully ready to go. Walking in a circle, she forgets she's topless and is surprised when Karla hands her a robe. Karla excuses herself and shuffles quickly to her room. Slamming her door closed, she curses under her breath and looks to the ceiling.


End file.
